Chapter 3
The weather was fine on the day of the prayer banquet, and everything went smoothly.
The Noble Consort sat at her dressing table, fully dressed and with her hair arranged, waiting for the emperor to come and make peace.
But the banquet ended without a visit from him, or even a junior eunuch from Taiji Hall.
After dark, Matron Cui brought in supper, watching her expression.
“Your Highness, please eat something. If you damage your health, His Majesty will be distressed.”
At the mention of him, she whipped around and knocked the food box from Matron Cui’s hands.
“Pei Hongyi, you have betrayed me! You have no conscience…”
Any other day, I would have gone forward to soothe her gently.
Today I knelt beside Matron Cui without a word.
Looking at the spilled soup and broken porcelain, I felt that none of this had anything to do with me anymore.
Matron Cui shuffled forward on her knees. “Your Highness, please listen to this old servant.”
“His Majesty rules a nation. Affairs of state must come first. You must restrain your temper a little. Letting this quarrel continue will only damage the bond between you!”
“What do you know!” Tears spilled down her cheeks again.
“You care about nothing but rank and imperial favor! Those cold things are not what I want. I want his heart! True love matters more than anything!”
Matron Cui could find no reply.
Still kneeling, I slowly looked around the bedchamber.
Priceless treasures lined the display shelves. A thick, soft Persian carpet covered the floor.
Her jewel cases glittered with pearls and jade; her wardrobes held robes made from fabric worth a fortune a bolt.
True love?
Without the emperor’s favor, Ye Lanzhen, where would you be? What right would you have to all this splendor?
Rain began falling suddenly at dusk.
The Noble Consort gazed into it and sank into melancholy.
One moment she cried at the window; the next she was crushing the blooms of a newly delivered pot of narcissus.
By the end, she was laughing and weeping by turns.
“Qingtang, do you think His Majesty has grown tired of me?”
“You worry too much, Your Highness,” I said softly. “He is merely occupied with affairs of state.”
She released me, desolation in the corners of her eyes.
“What could keep him so busy he cannot spare even a glance? He simply does not want to see me.”
“That bitch Shen Lianxi has driven a wedge between my husband and me.”
Matron Cui and I exchanged a look, both helpless.
The rain grew heavier. Hurried footsteps sounded outside.
The little eunuch sent to gather news stumbled in. “Your Highness, something dreadful has happened! His Majesty knocked over a teacup while reading memorials. Scalding water spilled all over his hand!”
She sprang from her couch. “What? Is it badly hurt?”
“The imperial physician is there already. He says it is terribly red and swollen.”
Her face went white. Forgetting everything else, she stepped down barefoot.
“Quick, bring the best ointment. I must see him!”
“Matron, fetch my cloak. Qingtang, get the medicine!”
Without even taking an umbrella, she rushed into the downpour. Matron Cui and I could only snatch up umbrellas and hurry after her.
The guards at Taiji Hall had scarcely registered her appearance before she had charged inside.
The emperor sat at the edge of a couch, the back of his exposed right hand red and swollen.
The physician was carefully dabbing it with a cloth soaked in medicine.
Hair disheveled, the Noble Consort flung herself beside the couch and kicked the physician aside, tears coming on command.
“Without me beside you, how could you be so careless!”
The emperor frowned slightly at the physician stumbling to the floor, but said nothing.
She snatched the jade box from my hands, scooped out a great lump of ointment, and slapped it onto his hand.
“Does it hurt? There, be good. Once the medicine is on, it will stop hurting.”
Caught unprepared, he drew a sharp breath.
But seeing the concern in her eyes, he endured it.
“Enough. It is a minor injury. Do not make such a fuss.”
“Minor? It has blistered!”
She smeared the ointment about clumsily, choking back sobs.
“You see? I am the only one in this palace who cares for you, who loves you!”
“If you were with that Shen slut, she would be too busy clinging to you. Would she ever truly worry about you?”
The jealousy and provocation were painfully blatant.
As she babbled, the small softness in his eyes abruptly vanished.
“Enough!” He thrust his elbow out, pushing her hand away.
“You are not needed here. Leave.”
She froze, eyes widening. “Pei Hongyi! Even now, you defend that bitch!”
“I came through all this rain for you. What am I to you? Have you forgotten the oath you swore in the labor quarters? You have no conscience!”
He erupted. “Get back to Cheng’an Palace and reflect on your conduct! Think carefully about how a Noble Consort ought to behave!”
She glared at him, her lips trembling. Then she stamped her foot and ran out.
He swept the memorials from the table. “Out! All of you, out!”
The attendants withdrew in breathless silence, leaving the floor strewn with wreckage.
I looked at Pei Hongyi slumped on the dragon throne. After a moment’s hesitation, I went forward, taking a clean cotton handkerchief from my sleeve.
I dipped it in warm water and wrung it out.
Gently, I laid it against the uninjured side of his wrist.
His eyelids parted. He glanced at me and said nothing.
Seeing his tacit permission, Wang Gongquan quietly withdrew.
I gently wiped away the excess ointment.
Once it was clean, several blisters showed beneath.
I took fresh ointment, smoothed it between my fingertips, and slowly applied it.
As I bent over him, my collar opened a little.
Half the orchid at my collarbone caught the candlelight.
The shadow of its petals stirred with my movements.
When the ointment was evenly spread, I wrapped his hand loosely in fine cotton and tied a knot.
He slowly opened his eyes. His voice was rough. “You still know how to tend to someone properly.”
Gathering my courage, I looked into his unreadable eyes.
“The empress dowager trained me. I would never forget what I owe her.”
He gave a low laugh. “Ha. Never forget what you owe.”
I knew those words had touched the deepest wound between him and the Noble Consort.
“Her Highness was only anxious and lost her composure,” I said softly. “In her heart, she truly cares for you.”
He did not answer. His gaze drifted down to the half-revealed orchid.
A fingertip lifted my chin. “If only she were half as sensible as you.”
I softened my voice still further. “I only wish for Your Majesty and Her Highness to be well. Then the palace can know peace.”
The words were obedient, discreet.
But I knew that the more I spoke like this, the more he would wonder.
Why did a maid understand such things, while the woman who occupied his every thought did not?
His eyes darkened. In the next instant, his uninjured left hand closed around the back of my neck.
His tongue pressed deep into my mouth, filling it with the taste of ambergris.
Kneeling beside the couch, I was pulled forward until I was almost sprawled against his chest.
Only when every breath had been wrung from me did he finally release me, still wanting more.
I gasped, limp against him.
“Y-Your Majesty…”
He looked down at me, desire mingled with awareness.
Slowly, I pushed myself out of his arms and drew my open collar together, covering the orchid again.
“Your hand is dressed. You should rest early, Your Majesty. I will take my leave.”